Digestive System Basics
Where does the digestive process begin?
The Mouth
How many stomach compartments does a ruminant have?
4
What does monogastric mean?
Having one simple stomach.
What type of digestive system does a chicken have?
Avian
Classify a cow by its digestive system.
Ruminant.
What muscular tube carries food from the mouth to the stomach?
The esophagus.
What is the largest fermentation compartment, where feed is soaked and mixed with bacteria?
The rumen.
What type of digestive system does a pig have?
Monogastric
What pouch stores and soaks food before it moves farther through a bird's digestive tract?
The crop.
Which digestive system category includes chickens, turkeys, and ducks?
Avian
What are the two main types of digestion?
Physical and chemical digestion.
Which stomach compartment has a honeycomb appearance and can collect nails or wire?
The reticulum
What is the main digestive difference between a monogastric and a modified monogastric animal?
Modified monogastrics have an enlarged cecum for digesting fibrous roughage.
Which muscular organ physically grinds food and performs a function similar to teeth?
The Gizzard
A rabbit has one stomach but relies on an enlarged cecum to digest fiber. What type is it?
Modified monogastric.
Name the three sections of the small intestine in order.
Duodenum, jejunum, ileum
Which compartment resembles pages of a book?
Omasum = book
Why can horses digest large amounts of hay even though they have only one stomach compartment?
They have an enlarged cecum
What is the difference between the proventriculus and the gizzard?
The proventriculus adds gastric acid for chemical digestion; the gizzard grinds food physically
Which enzyme in saliva begins the chemical breakdown of carbohydrates?
Amylase.
What are villi, and why are they important for digestion?
Small fingerlike projections that increase surface area for nutrient absorption.
Instead of top incisors, ruminants have what?
Dental Pad
Why would a diet containing large amounts of cellulose-rich roughage be less suitable for a pig than for a horse?
A pig has limited fiber-fermentation capacity compared with a horse, whose enlarged hindgut helps digest roughage.
Put these avian digestive structures in order: gizzard, crop, cloaca, proventriculus.
Crop → proventriculus → gizzard → cloaca
A cow eats hay. Name its four stomach compartments in the order food first passes through them and describe one major function of each.
Rumen, Reticulum, Omasum Abomasum